Garment hanger



Aug. 5, 1969 J. H. BATTS GARMENT HANGER Filed Oct. 17, 1967 INVENTOR.

B M MM; aw WW United States Patent 3,459,349 GARMENT HANGER John H. Batts, Grand Rapids, Mich., assignor to John Thomas Batts Inc., Zeeland, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Filed Oct. 17, 1967, Ser. No. 675,951 Int. Cl. A47j 51/08 US. Cl. 223-91 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A molded plastic grament hanger having intergally molded at each extremity of the trouser bar section a protruding hook-like member. After the trousers or other apparel are placed on the bar, a closed resilient loop of material such as a rubber band is suspended between the hooks to retain the trousers or the like on the bar.

Background This invention relates to garment hangers and, more particularly, to such hangers embodying means for retaining a pair of trousers or the like in a predetermined position with respect to the supporting bar.

In copending application Ser. No. 675,854 filed Oct. 17, 1967, now abandoned, there is disclosed a concept of retaining a pair of trousers or other type of wearing apparel over the supporting bar of a garment hanger involving, inter alia, the suspension of a resilient member such as a rubber hand between extremities of the bar and in close adjacency with respect thereto. The rubber band, as pointed out in detail in the co-pending application, functions to press the trousers or the like against the bar and, thus, prevent them from sliding around or otf of the hanger during transit or other use.

The suspending of the elastic between the extremities of the trouser bar necessitates, of course, that some means he provided for retaining the elastic in its suspended state. In the co-pending application noted above, one scheme is illustrated wherein a series of plugs are force-fitted into suitable apertures in the leg extremities of the hanger. The plugs have retaining indents, slots or the like on their exposed portions and the rubber band is suspended along the bar by looping its ends over these exposed portions. The plugs are fabricated separately from the remainder of the hanger and installed prior to utilization thereof. The fabrication of the separate plug components necessitates the provision of separate ldies, molds or the like as well as the carrying of an inventory of a large number of loose components.

It has recently become practical in the garment hanger art to integrally mold the header leg and bar sections from a suitable plastic material. Such may be accomplished with economic feasibility, ordinarily, only where the hanger is configured such as to permit molding in a two-piece mold. One such hanger is illustrated in copending application Ser. No. 615,733, filed Feb. 13, 1967, now United States Patent No. 3,406,881 assigned to the same assignee as the instant invention. This invention presents a scheme of integrally incorporating one or more elastic retaining members into the hanger during the molding process.

ice

Objects and specification It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide a garment hanger embodying elastic retaining members which may be fabricated in a conventional two-piece mo d.

More particularly, it is an object of this invention to provide a hanger of the type described capable of being integrally molded throughout and, thus, which may be fabricated relatively inexpensively.

It is an object of this invention, thus, to provide a hanger of the type described having an elastic retaining member so configured and so positioned as to not detract from the functional, structural and appearance qualities of the hanger and, yet, which provides a highly suitable anchoring structure in the event that an elastic band or the like is desired to be utilized in conjunction with the hanger.

These as well as other objects of this invention will be readily understood with reference to the following specification and accompanying figures in which:

FIG. 1 is a broken, bottom plan view of the novel garment hanger illustrating a first embodiment of this invention;

, FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary bottom plan view of the novel retainin means and adjacent structure illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, bottom plan View of a second embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary, plan view illustrating yet a third embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary, front elevational view, partially in cross section, of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary, rear-elevational view of the structure illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Briefly, this invention comprises a garment hanger having a header portion, a support element associated therewith, a pair of diverging legs extending downwardly from the sides of the header portion and a rigid molded bar extending between the extremities of the legs. The elastic retaining means are positioned adjacent each extremity of the bar and integrally molded therewith.

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 2 and 6, a first embodiment of this invention will be described in detail. FIG. 1 illustrates a garment hanger which has been integrally molded in a one-step molding operation from a suitable plastic. The hanger 10a comprises a header portion 11 with legs 12a and 12b diverging therefrom. The legs terminate in junction sections 13a and 13b between which is suspended the bar 14. The bar 14, as well as the legs and header portion of the hanger, are substantially of inverted U- shape in cross section and a series of reinforcing ribs 1'5 are provided as a means of insuring the necessary structural characteristics. A conventional support element, indicated from the bottom by the reference numeral 16 in FIG. 1, is passed through a suitable aperture formed during the molding process.

As will be noted from an examination of FIGS. 1, 2 and 6, the junction sections 13a and 13b of the hanger 10a are configured such that the bar is ofiset slightly rearwardly with respect to the forward faces of the junction sections to improve the balancing characteristics of the 3 hanger when loaded. The junction section curves rearwardly as indicated at 17 (FIG. 2) and then continues across the hanger in the form of the support bar 14. Integrally molded into the bar adjacent the extremities thereof are the hook members 20a and 2011. Members 20 are positioned on the rear vertical face of the support bar 14.

As discussed in co-pending application Ser. No. 615,733, filed Feb. 13, 1967, now United States Patent No. 3,406,881 the bar 14 of the hanger a is disposed forwardly from substantially all segments of the header portion 11 and legs 12a and 1211. Such disposition permits molding of the hanger between two mold members Separable along the vertical axes of the hanger. In the embodiment of this invention shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 6, the bar 14 is disposed forwardly a sufficient distance to permit protrusion of the hook members a and 20b rearwardly therefrom such that the hook members also do not underlie any portion of the header or legs in the mold, such disposition permitting fabrication of the entire assembly 10a in a vertically-opening two-piece mold.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 6, the hook members 20a and 20b protrude from the sidewall of the hanger bar 14 directly. As shown in FIG. 6, the hook members are preferably between A; and inch in height which, in the ordinary hanger, will be approximately /2 the depth of the trouser support bar. By so positioning the hook members 20, it is possible to provide the necessary structure in the mold member to form the interior portion of the hook, and still be readily able to remove the hanger from the mold subsequent to opening of the mold. The fabrication process and details of the mold, of course, will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from an examination of the physical properties of the article and, therefore, it is not deemed necessary to discuss them in detail.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a pair of trousers or the like 50 is placed over the support bar 14 in conventional fashion between the hooks 20a and 20b. If, for example, the goods are being shipped from the point of manufacture, a conventional rubber band 60 may be hooked over and suspended between hook members 20a and 20b and, due to the elastic properties of the band, it will tend to compressively force the pants into abutment with the bar. As pointed out in detail in the co-pending application noted previously, best results are obtained when a bar having a high coefficient of friction is utilized, although satisfactory results may be achieved in some environments even with a smooth trouser supporting bar. The presence of the elastic prevents the trousers from shifting on the hanger during shipment and insures that they will arrive at their ultimate destination in a condition acceptable for display and sale.

The embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, designated by the reference numeral 10b, is similar to that described in connection with FIGS. 1, 2 and 6 except that the hook members 30, rather than merely protruding from a conventional bar, forms a substantial continuation 32 of the sidewall 31 of the support bar 14. This continuation 32 terminates in a knob-like member 35 which functions to retain the band in suspended position over the trouser bar. As is the case in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 may be fabricated from a two-piece vertically opening mold. The hook structure is slightly stronger than that shown in FIG. 1 and, therefore, is somewhat more adapted to continuous use conditions, will accommodate elastic bands having greater coefficients of elasticity and the like.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate a somewhat differing embodiment of the invention suitable for utilization in hanger designs having the support bars recessed rearwardly to a point at which insufiieient clearance exists to permit opening of the mold if the elastic retaining hook is placed on the rear face of the bar. In this situation, the retaining hook assembly is fabricated by molding an aperture 41 into the upper surface of the support bar 14 and/or the junction section 13. During the molding process, a portion of the die protrudes through the aperture 41 and forms, in conjunction with the lower die section, a depending support section 42 having a retaining lip 43 extending therefrom in generally horizontal fashion.

The use of the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 is identical to that described in conjunction with the embodiments of FIGS. 1 through 3 with the exception, of course, that the rubber band or other type of elastic member, in this particular situation, emanates from the lower surface of the support bar 14. It is snapped into position by merely extending it and passing it between the bottom of the bar and the lip 43.

While not illustrated in detail in this application, it will be readily apparent from the study of the co-pending application noted above that the hook members on opposite sides of the hanger may be fabricated differently if desired. Thus, for example, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the hook member 20b might curve closer to the sidewall of the retaining bar than did the hook member 20a. In such a situation, the rubber band or the like could be stretched, inserted into the hook member 20b and upon retraction would not readily fall free therefrom. By constructing the hook such, it would be possible to insure the presence of the rubber band whenever it was desired to utilize the hanger.

I claim:

1. A garment hanger adapted to be suspended from a support, said hanger comprising:

an enlarged header portion;

a support engaging element associated with said header portion, said header portion lying in a generally vertical plane when said hanger is suspended from said support;

a pair of diverging legs extending downwardly and outwardly from the sides of said header portion, each of said legs extending forwardly from and out of the general plane of said header portion, each of said legs and header portion being generally hollow shells opening downwardly;

a trouser bar connecting the extremities of each of said legs, said trouser bar having outwardly opening, hooklike elastic member retaining means positioned therealong adjacent each extremity thereof, said trouser bar, retaining means, legs and header portion being integrally moulded from plastic as one piece, the extremities of said bar extending inwardly with respect to the extremities of said legs, said retaining means and the extremities of said bar being offset forwardly with respect to all segments of said legs thereabove, the remainder of said bar being displaced forwardly from all segments of said header portion and legs whereby said hanger can be molded in a two-piece mould.

2. The hanger as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means are positioned on the rear face of said bar.

3. The hanger as set forth in claim 1 wherein said retaining means comprises a hooked member protruding from said bar.

4. The hanger as set forth in claim 1 wherein said bar is of substantially inverted U-shape in cross section and wherein said retaining means comprises a hook member protruding from the rear face of said bar adjacent each extremity thereof.

5. The hanger as set forth in claim 4 which further comprises, in combination, a closed loop of resilient material suspended between said hook members to retain a garment on said bar.

6. The hanger as set forth in claim 1 wherein said retaining means comprises an elastic member receiving lip positioned adjacent the underside of said bar.

7. The hanger as set forth in claim 6 which further comprises a mold-access aperture in the upper surface of said bar above said lip.

(References on following page) 5 6 References Cited OTHER REFERENCES UNITED STATES PATENTS Brenninlarneyer, German application, 1,174,029, printed 2,099,596 11/1937 Bruening 223-87 J111Y16r1964- 3131333233 $11333 ZZFSQEFEIIII 553233 5 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Prrrrrry Errrrrrrrrrr 2,509,346 5/1950 Hustede 223-91 GEORGE H. KRIZMANICH, Assistant Examiner FOREIGN PATENTS U.S. Cl.X.R. 751,228 6/1933 France. 297-44145;

296,974 5/1954 Switzerland. 10 

